Jacob's journey to Haran was a succession of miracles. The first of the five that
befell for his sake in the course of it was that the sun sank while Jacob was passing
Mount Moriah, though it was high noon at the time. He was following the spring that
appeared wherever the Patriarchs went or settled. It accompanied Jacob from Beer-sheba to
Mount Moriah, a two days' journey. When he arrived at the holy hill, the Lord said to him:
"Jacob, thou hast bread in thy wallet, and the spring of waters is near by to quench
thy thirst. Thus thou hast food and drink, and here thou canst lodge for the night."
But Jacob replied: "The sun has barely passed the fifth of its twelve day stages, why
should I lie down to sleep at so unseemly an hour?" But then Jacob perceived that the
sun was about to sink, and he prepared to make ready his bed.[130] It was the Divine
purpose not to let Jacob pass the site of the future Temple without stopping; he was to
tarry there at least one night. Also, God desired to appear unto Jacob, and He shows
Himself unto His faithful ones only at night.[131] At the same time Jacob was saved from
the pursuit of Esau, who had to desist on account of the premature darkness.[132]

Jacob took twelve stones from the altar on which his father Isaac had lain bound as a
sacrifice, and he said: "It was the purpose of God to let twelve tribes arise, but
they have not been begotten by Abraham or Isaac. If, now, these twelve stones will unite
into a single one, then shall I know for a certainty that I am destined to become the
father of the twelve tribes." At this time the second miracle came to pass, the
twelve stones joined themselves together and made one, which he put under his head, and at
once it became soft and downy like a pillow. It was well that he had a comfortable couch.
He was in great need of rest, for it was the first night in fourteen years that he did not
keep vigils. During all those years, passed in Eber's house of learning, he had devoted
the nights to study. And for twenty years to come he was not to sleep, for while he was
with his uncle Laban, he spent all the night and every night reciting the Psalms.[133]

On the whole it was a night of marvels. He dreamed a dream in which the course of the
world's history was unfolded to him. On a ladder set up on the earth, with the top of it
reaching to heaven, he beheld the two angels who had been sent to Sodom. For one hundred
and thirty-eight years they had been banished from the celestial regions, because they had
betrayed their secret mission to Lot. They had accompanied Jacob from his father's house
thither, and now they were ascending heavenward. When they arrived there, he heard them
call the other angels, and say, "Come ye and see the countenance of the pious Jacob,
whose likeness appears on the Divine throne, ye who yearned long to see it," and then
he beheld the angels descend from heaven to gaze upon him.[134] He also saw the angels of
the four kingdoms ascending the ladder. The angel of Babylon mounted seventy rounds, the
angel of Media, fifty-two, that of Greece, one hundred and eighty, and that of Edom
mounted very high, saying, "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be
like the Most High," and Jacob heard a voice remonstrating, "Yet thou shalt be
brought down to hell, to the uttermost parts of the pit." God Himself reproved Edom,
saying, "Though thou mount on high as the eagle, and though thy nest be set among the
stars, I will bring thee down from thence."[135]

Furthermore, God showed unto Jacob the revelation at Mount Sinai, the translation of
Elijah, the Temple in its glory and in its spoliation, Nebuchadnezzar's attempt to burn
the three holy children in the fiery furnace, and Daniel's encounter with Bel.[136]

In this, the first prophetic dream dreamed by Jacob,[137] God made him the promise that
the land upon which he was lying would be given to him, but the land he lay upon was the
whole of Palestine, which God had folded together and put under him. "And," the
promise continued, "thy seed will be like unto the dust of the earth. As the earth
survives all things, so thy children will survive all the nations of the earth. But as the
earth is trodden upon by all, so thy children, when they commit trespasses, will be
trodden upon by the nations of the earth."[138] And, furthermore, God promised that
Jacob should spread out to the west and to the east, a greater promise than that given to
his fathers Abraham and Isaac, to whom He had allotted a limited land. Jacob's was an
unbounded possession.[139]

From this wondrous dream Jacob awoke with a start of fright, on account of the vision
he had had of the destruction of the Temple.[140] He cried out, "How dreadful is this
place! this is none other but the house of God, wherein is the gate of heaven through
which prayer ascends to Him." He took the stone made out of the twelve, and set it up
for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it, which had flowed down from heaven for
him, and God sank this anointed stone unto the abyss, to serve as the centre of the earth,
the same stone, the Eben Shetiyah,[141] that forms the centre of the sanctuary, whereon
the Ineffable Name is graven, the knowledge of which makes a man master over nature, and
over life and death.[142]

Jacob cast himself down before the Eben Shetiyah, and entreated God to fulfil the
promise He had given him, and also he prayed that God grant him honorable sustenance. For
God had not mentioned bread to eat and raiment to put on, that Jacob might learn to have
faith in the Lord. Then he vowed to give the tenth of all he owned unto God, if He would
but grant his petition. Thus Jacob was the first to take a vow upon himself,[143] and the
first, too, to separate the tithe from his income.[144]

God had promised him almost all that is desirable, but he feared he might forfeit the
pledged blessings through his sinfulness,[145] and again he prayed earnestly that God
bring him back to his father's house unimpaired in body, possessions, and knowledge,[146]
and guard him, in the strange land whither he was going, against idolatry, an immoral
life, and bloodshed.[147]

His prayer at an end, Jacob set out on his way to Haran, and the third wonder happened.
In the twinkling of an eye he arrived at his destination. The earth jumped from Mount
Moriah to Haran. A wonder like this God has executed only four times in the whole course
of history.[148]

The first thing to meet his eye in Haran was the well whence the inhabitants drew their
supply of water. Although it was a great city, Haran suffered from dearth of water, and
therefore the well could not be used by the people free of charge. Jacob's sojourn in the
city produced a change. By reason of his meritorious deeds the water springs were blessed,
and the city had water enough for its needs.

Jacob saw a number of people by the well, and he questioned them, "My brethren,
whence be ye?" He thus made himself a model for all to follow. A man should be
companionable, and address others like brothers and friends, and not wait for them to
greet him. Each one should strive to be the first to give the salutation of peace, that
the angels of peace and compassion may come to meet him. When he was informed that the
by-standers hailed from Haran, he made inquiry about the character and vocation of his
uncle Laban, and whether they were on terms of friendly intercourse with him. They
answered briefly: "There is peace between us, but if thou art desirous of inquiring
further, here comes Rachel the daughter of Laban. From her thou canst learn all thou hast
a mind to learn." They knew that women like to talk, wherefore they referred him to
Rachel.[149]

Jacob found it strange that so many should be standing idle by the well, and he
questioned further: "Are you day laborers? then it is too early for you to put by
your work. But if you are pasturing your own sheep, why do you not water your flocks and
let them feed?"[150] They told him they were waiting until all the shepherds brought
their flocks thither, and together rolled the stone from the mouth of the well. While he
was yet speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for Laban had no sons,
and a pest having broken out shortly before among his cattle, so few sheep were left that
a maiden like Rachel could easily tend them. Now, when Jacob saw the daughter of his
mother's brother approaching, he rolled the great stone from the mouth of the well as
easily as a cork is drawn from a bottle--the fourth wonder of this extraordinary day.
Jacob's strength was equal to the strength of all the shepherds; with his two arms alone
he accomplished what usually requires the united forces of a large assemblage of men. He
had been divinely endowed with this supernatural strength on leaving the Holy Land. God
had caused the dew of the resurrection to drop down upon him, and his physical strength
was so great that even in a combat with the angels he was victorious.[152]

The fifth and last wonder of the day was that the water rose from the depths of the
well to the very top, there was no need to draw it up, and there it remained all the
twenty years that Jacob abode in Haran.[153]

JACOB WITH LABAN

Rachel's coming to the well at the moment when Jacob reached the territory belonging to
Haran was an auspicious omen. To meet young maidens on first entering a city is a sure
sign that fortune is favorable to one's undertakings. Experience proves this through
Eliezer, Jacob, Moses, and Saul. They all encountered maidens when they approached a place
new to them, and they all met with success.[154]

Jacob treated Rachel at once as his cousin, which caused significant whispering among
the by-standers. They censured Jacob for his demeanor toward her, for since God had sent
the deluge upon the world, on account of the immoral life led by men, great chastity had
prevailed, especially among the people of the east. The talk of the men reduced Jacob to
tears. Scarcely had he kissed Rachel when he began to weep, for he repented of having done
it.

There was reason enough for tears. Jacob could not but remember sadly that Eliezer, his
grandfather's slave, had brought ten camels laden with presents with him to Haran, when he
came to sue for a bride for Isaac, while he had not even a ring to give to Rachel.
Moreover, he foresaw that his favorite wife Rachel would not lie beside him in the grave,
and this, too, made him weep.

As soon as Rachel heard that Jacob was her cousin, she ran home to tell her father
about his coming. Her mother was no longer among the living, else she would naturally have
gone to her. In great haste Laban ran to receive Jacob. He reflected, if Eliezer, the
bondman, had come with ten camels, what would not the favorite son of the family bring
with him, and when he saw that Jacob was unattended, he concluded that he carried great
sums of money in his girdle, and he threw his arms about his waist to find out whether his
supposition was true. Disappointed in this, he yet did not give up hope that his nephew
Jacob was a man of substance. Perhaps he concealed precious stones in his mouth, and he
kissed him in order to find out whether he had guessed aright. But Jacob said to him:
"Thou thinkest I have money. Nay, thou art mistaken, I have but words."[155]
Then he went on to tell him how it had come about that he stood before him empty-handed.
He said that his father Isaac had sent him on his way provided with gold, silver, and
money, but he had encountered Eliphaz, who had threatened to slay him. To this assailant
Jacob had spoken thus: "Know that the descendants of Abraham have an obligation to
meet, they will have to serve four hundred years in a land that is not theirs. If thou
slayest me, then you, the seed of Esau, will have to pay the debt. It were better,
therefore, to take all I have, and spare my life, so that what is owing may be paid by me.
Hence," Jacob continued, "I stand before thee bare of all the substance carried
off by Eliphaz."[156]

This tale of his nephew's poverty filled Laban with dismay. "What," he
exclaimed, "shall I have to give food and drink for a month or, perhaps, even a year
to this fellow, who has come to me empty-handed!" He betook himself to his teraphim,
to ask them for counsel upon the matter, and they admonished him, saying: "Beware of
sending him away from thy house. His star and his constellation are so lucky that good
fortune will attend all his undertakings, and for his sake the blessing of the Lord will
rest upon all thou doest, in thy house or in thy field."

Laban was satisfied with the advice of the teraphim, but he was embarrassed as to the
way in which he was to attach Jacob to his house. He did not venture to offer him service,
lest Jacob's conditions be impossible of fulfilment. Again he resorted to the teraphim,
and asked them with what reward to tempt his nephew, and they replied: "A wife is his
wage; he will ask nothing else of thee but a wife. It is his nature to be attracted by
women, and whenever he threatens to leave thee, do but offer him another wife, and he will
not depart.

Laban went back to Jacob, and said, "Tell me, what shall thy wages be?" and
he replied, "Thinkest thou I came hither to make money? I came only to get me a
wife,"[158] for Jacob had no sooner beheld Rachel than he fell in love with her and
made her a proposal of marriage. Rachel consented, but added the warning: "My father
is cunning, and thou art not his match." Jacob: "I am his brother in
cunning." Rachel: "But is deception becoming unto the pious?" Jacob:
"Yes, 'with the righteous righteousness is seemly, and with the deceiver deception.'
But," continued Jacob, "tell me wherein he may deal cunningly with me."
Rachel: "I have an older sister, whom he desires to see married before me, and he
will try to palm her off on thee instead of me." To be prepared for Laban's trickery,
Jacob and Rachel agreed upon a sign by which he would recognize her in the nuptial
night.[159]

Thus warned to be on his guard against Laban, Jacob worded his agreement with him
regarding his marriage to Rachel with such precision that no room was left for distortion
or guile. Jacob said: "I know that the people of this place are knaves, therefore I
desire to put the matter very clearly to thee. I will serve thee seven years for Rachel,
hence not Leah; for thy daughter, that thou bringest me not some other woman likewise
named Rachel; for the younger daughter, that thou exchangest not their names in the
meantime."

Nothing of all this availed: "It profits not if a villain is cast into a
sawmill"--neither force nor gentle words can circumvent a rascal. Laban deceived not
only Jacob, but also the guests whom he invited to the wedding.

THE MARRIAGE OF JACOB

After Jacob had served Laban seven years, he said to his uncle: "The Lord destined
me to be the father of twelve tribes. I am now eighty-four years old, and if I do not take
thought of the matter now, when can I?"[160] Thereupon Laban consented to let him
have his daughter Rachel to wife, and he was married forty-four years after his brother
Esau. The Lord often defers the happiness of the pious, while He permits the wicked to
enjoy the fulfilment of their desires soon.[161] Esau, however, had purposely chosen his
fortieth year for his marriage; he had wanted to indicate that he was walking in the
footsteps of his father Isaac, who had likewise married at forty years of age. Esau was
like a swine that stretches out its feet when it lies down, to show that it is
cloven-footed like the clean animals, though it is none the less one of the unclean
animals. Until his fortieth year Esau made a practice of violating the wives of other men,
and then at his marriage he acted as though he were following the example of his pious
father. Accordingly, the woman he married was of his own kind, Judith, a daughter of Heth,
for God said: "This one, who is designed for stubble, to be burnt by fire, shall take
unto wife one of a people also destined for utter destruction." They, Esau and his
wife, illustrated the saying, "Not for naught does the raven consort with the crow;
they are birds of a feather."[162]

Far different it was with Jacob. He married the two pious and lovely sisters, Leah and
Rachel, for Leah, like her younger sister, was beautiful of countenance, form, and
stature. She had but one defect, her eyes were weak, and this malady she had brought down
upon herself, through her own action. Laban, who had two daughters, and Rebekah, his
sister, who had two sons, had agreed by letter, while their children were still young,
that the older son of the one was to marry the older daughter of the other, and the
younger son the younger daughter. When Leah grew to maidenhood, and inquired about her
future husband, all her tidings spoke of his villainous character, and she wept over her
fate until her eyelashes dropped from their lids. But Rachel grew more and more beautiful
day by day, for all who spoke of Jacob praised and extolled him, and "good tidings
make the bones fat."

In view of the agreement between Laban and Rebekah, Jacob refused to marry the older
daughter Leah. As it was, Esau was his mortal enemy, on account of what had happened
regarding the birthright and the paternal blessing. If, now, Jacob married the maiden
appointed for him, Esau would never forgive his younger brother. Therefore Jacob resolved
to take to wife Rachel, the younger daughter of his uncle.[163]

Laban was of another mind. He purposed to marry of his older daughter first, for he
knew that Jacob would consent to serve him a second period of seven years for love of
Rachel. On the day of the wedding he assembled the inhabitants of Haran, and addressed
them as follows: "Ye know well that we used to suffer from lack of water, and as soon
as this pious man Jacob came to dwell among us, we had water in abundance."
"What hast thou in mind to do?" they asked Laban. He replied: "If ye have
naught to say against it, I will deceive him and give him Leah to wife. He loves Rachel
with an exceeding great love, and for her sake he will tarry with us yet seven other
years." "Do as it pleaseth thee," his friends said. "Well, then,"
said Laban, "let each one of you give me a pledge that ye will not betray my
purpose."

With the pledges they left with him, Laban bought wine, oil, and meat for the wedding
feast, and he set a meal before them which they had themselves paid for. Because he
deceived his fellow-citizens thus, Laban is called Arami, "the deceiver." They
feasted all day long, until late at night, and when Jacob expressed his astonishment at
the attention shown him, they said to him: "Through thy piety thou didst a great
service of lovingkindness unto us, our supply of water was increased unto abundance, and
we desire to show our gratitude therefor." And, indeed, they tried to give him a hint
of Laban's purpose. In the marriage ode which they sang they used the refrain
"Halia," in the hope that he would understand it as Ha Leah, "This is
Leah." But Jacob was unsuspicious and noticed nothing.

When the bride was led into the nuptial chamber, the guests extinguished all the
candles, much to Jacob's amazement. But their explanation satisfied him. "Thinkest
thou," they said, "we have as little sense of decency as thy countrymen?"
Jacob therefore did not discover the deception practiced upon him until morning. During
the night Leah responded whenever he called Rachel, for which he reproached her bitterly
when daylight came. "O thou deceiver, daughter of a deceiver, why didst thou answer
me when I called Rachel's name?" "Is there a teacher without a pupil?"
asked Leah, in return. "I but profited by thy instruction. When thy father called
thee Esau, didst thou not say, Here am I?"[164]

Jacob was greatly enraged against Laban, and he said to him: "Why didst thou deal
treacherously with me? Take back thy daughter, and let me depart, seeing thou didst act
wickedly toward me."[165] Laban pacified him, however, saying, "It is not so
done in our place, to give the younger before the first-born," and Jacob agreed to
serve yet seven other years for Rachel, and after the seven days of the feast of Leah's
wedding were fulfilled, he married Rachel.[166]

With Leah and Rachel, Jacob received the handmaids Zilpah and Bilhah, two other
daughters of Laban, whom his concubines had borne unto him.[167]

THE BIRTH OF JACOB'S CHILDREN

The ways of God are not like unto the ways of men. A man clings close to his friend
while he has riches, and forsakes him when he falls into poverty. But when God sees a
mortal unsteady and faltering, He reaches a hand out to him, and raises him up. Thus it
happened with Leah. She was hated by Jacob, and God visited her in mercy. Jacob's aversion
to Leah began the very morning after their wedding, when his wife taunted him with not
being wholly free from cunning and craft himself. Then God said, "Help can come to
Leah only if she gives birth to a child; then the love of her husband will return to
her."[168] God remembered the tears she had shed when she prayed that her doom,
chaining her to that recreant Esau, be averted from her, and so wondrous are the uses of
prayer that Leah, besides turning aside the impending decree, was permitted to marry Jacob
before her sister and be the first to bear him a child. There was another reason why the
Lord was compassionately inclined toward Leah. She had gotten herself talked about. The
sailors on the sea, the travellers along the highways, the women at their looms, they all
gossiped about Leah, saying, "She is not within what her seeming is without. She
appears to be pious, but if she were, she would not have deceived her sister."[169]
To put an end to all this tattle, God granted her the distinction of bearing a son at the
end of seven months after her marriage. He was one of a pair of twins, the other child
being a daughter. So it was with eleven of the sons of Jacob, all of them except Joseph
were born twins with a girl, and the twin sister and brother married later on.[170]
Altogether it was an extraordinary childbirth, for Leah was barren, not formed by nature
to bear children.

She called her first-born son Reuben, which means "See the normal man," for
he was neither big nor little, neither dark nor fair, but exactly normal.[171] In calling
her oldest child Reuben, "See the son," Leah indicated his future character.
"Behold the difference," the name implied, "between my first-born son and
the first-born son of my father in-law. Esau sold his birthright to Jacob of his own free
will, and yet he hated him. As for my first-born son, although his birthright was taken
from him without his consent, and given to Joseph, it was nevertheless he who rescued
Joseph from the hands of his brethren."[172]

Leah called her second son Shime'on, "Yonder is sin," for one of his
descendants was that Zimri who was guilty of vile trespasses with the daughters of
Moab.[173]

The name of her third son, Levi, was given him by God Himself, not by his mother. The
Lord summoned him through the angel Gabriel, and bestowed the name upon him as one who is
"crowned" with the twenty-four gifts that are the tribute due to the
priests.[174]

At the birth of her fourth son, Leah returned thanks to God for a special reason. She
knew that Jacob would beget twelve sons, and if they were distributed equally among his
four wives, each would bear three. But now it appeared that she had one more than her due
share, and she called him Jehudah, "thanks unto God." She was thus the first
since the creation of the world to give thanks to God,[175] and her example was followed
by David and Daniel, the descendants of her son Judah.

When Rachel saw that her sister had borne Jacob four sons, she envied Leah. Not that
she begrudged her the good fortune she enjoyed, she only envied her for her piety, saying
to herself that it was to her righteous conduct that she owed the blessing of many
children.[176] Then she besought Jacob: "Pray unto God for me, that He grant me
children, else my life is no life. Verily, there are four that may be regarded as though
they were dead, the blind, the leper, the childless, and he who was once rich and has lost
his fortune." Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said: "It were
better thou shouldst address thy petition to God, and not to me, for am I in God's stead,
who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?"[177] God was displeased with this
answer that Jacob made to his sad wife. He rebuked him with the words: "Is it thus
thou wouldst comfort a grief-stricken heart? As thou livest, the day will come when thy
children will stand before the son of Rachel, and he will use the same words thou hast but
now used, saying, 'Am I in the place of the Lord?' "

Rachel also made reply to Jacob, saying: "Did not thy father, too, entreat God for
thy mother with earnest words, beseeching Him to remove her barrenness?" Jacob:
"It is true, but Isaac had no children, and I have several." Rachel:
"Remember thy grandfather Abraham, thou canst not deny that he had children when he
supplicated God in behalf of Sarah!" Jacob: "Wouldst thou do for me what Sarah
did for my grandfather?" Rachel: "Pray, what did she?" Jacob: "She
herself brought a rival into her house." Rachel: "If that is all that is
necessary, I am ready to follow the example of Sarah, and I pray that as she was granted a
child for having invited a rival, so may I be blessed, too."[178] Thereupon Rachel
gave Jacob Bilhah, her freed handmaid, to wife, and she bore him a son, whom Rachel called
Dan, saying, "As the Lord was gracious unto me and gave me a son according to my
petition, so He will permit Samson, the descendant of Dan, to judge his people, that it
fall not into the hands of the Philistines."[179] Bilhah's second son Rachel named
Naphtali, saying, "Mine is the bond that binds Jacob to this place, for it was for my
sake that he came to Laban." At the same time she wanted to convey by this name that
the Torah, which is as sweet as Nofet, "honeycomb," would be taught in the
territory of Naphtali.[180] And the name had still a third meaning: "As God hath
heard my fervent prayer for a son, so He will hearken unto the fervent prayer of the
Naphtalites when they are beset by their enemies."[181]

Leah, seeing that she had left bearing, while Bilhah, her sister's handmaid, bore Jacob
two sons, concluded that it was Jacob's destiny to have four wives, her sister and
herself, and their half-sisters Bilhah and Zilpah. Therefore she also gave him her
handmaid to wife.[182] Zilpah was the youngest of the four women. It was the custom of
that time to give the older daughter the older handmaid, and the younger daughter the
younger handmaid, as their dowry, when they got married. Now, in order to make Jacob
believe that his wife was the younger daughter he had served for, Laban had given Leah the
younger handmaid as her marriage portion. This Zilpah was so young that her body betrayed
no outward signs of pregnancy, and nothing was known of her condition until her son was
born. Leah called the boy Gad, which means "fortune," or it may mean "the
cutter," for from Gad was descended the prophet Elijah, who brings good fortune to
Israel, and he also cuts down the heathen world.[183] Leah had other reasons, too, for
choosing this name of double meaning. The tribe of Gad had the good fortune of entering
into possession of its allotment in the Holy Land before any of the others,[184] and,
also, Gad the son of Jacob was born circumcised.[185]

To Zilpah's second son Leah gave the name of Asher, "praise," for, she said,
"Unto me all manner of praise is due, for I brought my handmaid into the house of my
husband as wife. Sarah did likewise, but only because she had no children, and so it was
also with Rachel. But as for me, I had children, and nevertheless I subdued my passion,
and without jealousy I gave my handmaid to my husband for wife. Verily, all will praise
and extol me."[186] Furthermore she spoke: "As the women will praise me, so the
sons of Asher will in time to come praise God for their fruitful possession in the Holy
Land."[187]

The next son born unto Jacob was Issachar, "a reward," and once more it was
Leah who was permitted to bring forth the child, as a reward from God for her pious desire
to have the twelve tribes come into the world. To secure this result, she left no means
untried.[188]

It happened once that her oldest son Reuben was tending his father's ass during the
harvest, and he bound him to a root of dudaim, and went his way. On returning, he found
the dudaim torn out of the ground, and the ass lying dead beside it. The beast had
uprooted it in trying to get loose, and the plant has a peculiar quality, whoever tears it
up must die.[189] As it was the time of the harvest, when it is permitted for any one to
take a plant from a field, and as dudaim is, besides, a plant which the owner of a field
esteems lightly, Reuben carried it home. Being a good son, he did not keep it for himself,
but gave it to his mother. Rachel desired the dudaim, and she asked the plant of Leah, who
parted with it to her sister, but on the condition that Jacob, when he returned from work
in the evening, should tarry with her for a while. It was altogether unbecoming conduct in
Rachel to dispose thus of her husband. She gained the dudaim, but she lost two tribes. If
she had acted otherwise, she would have borne four sons instead of two. And she suffered
another punishment, her body was not permitted to rest in the grave beside her husband's.

Jacob came home from the field after night had fallen, for he observed the law obliging
a day laborer to work until darkness sets in, and Jacob's zeal in the affairs of Laban was
as great in the last seven years, after his marriage, as in the first seven, while he was
serving for the hand of Rachel.[190] When Leah heard the braying of Jacob's ass, she ran
to meet her husband,[191] and without giving him time to wash his feet, she insisted upon
his turning aside into her tent.[192] At first Jacob refused to go, but God compelled him
to enter, for unto God it was known that Leah acted from pure, disinterested motives.[193]
Her dudaim secured two sons for her, Issachar, the father of the tribe that devotes itself
to the study of the Torah, whence his name meaning "reward," and Zebulon, whose
descendants carried on commerce, using their profits to enable their brethren of Issachar
to keep at their studies.[194] Leah called this last-born son of hers Zebulon,
"dwelling-place," for she said, "Now will my husband dwell with me, seeing
that I have borne him six sons, and, also, the sons of Zebulon will have a goodly
dwelling-place in the Holy Land."[195]

Leah bore once more, and this last time it was a daughter, a man child turned into a
woman by her prayer. When she conceived for the seventh time, she spake as follows:
"God promised Jacob twelve sons. I bore him six, and each of the two handmaids has
borne him two. If, now, I were to bring forth another son, my sister Rachel would not be
equal even unto the handmaids." Therefore she prayed to God to change the male embryo
in her womb into a female, and God hearkened unto her prayer.[196]

Now all the wives of Jacob, Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah, united their prayers with
the prayer of Jacob, and together they besought God to remove the curse of barrenness from
Rachel. On New Year's Day, the day whereon God sits in judgment upon the inhabitants of
the earth, He remembered Rachel, and granted her a son.[197] And Rachel spake, "God
hath taken away my reproach," for all the people had said that she was not a pious
woman, else had she borne children, and now that God had hearkened to her, and opened her
womb, such idle talk no longer had any reason.[198]

By bearing a son, she had escaped another disgrace. She had said to herself:
"Jacob hath a mind to return to the land of his birth, and my father will not be able
to hinder his daughters who have borne him children from following their husband thither
with their children. But he will not let me, the childless wife, go, too, and he will keep
me here and marry me to one of the uncircumcised."[199] She said furthermore,
"As my son hath removed my reproach, so Joshua, his descendant, will roll away a
reproach from the Israelites, when he circumcises them beyond Jordan."[200]

Rachel called her son Joseph, "increase," saying, "God will give me an
additional son." Prophetess as she was, she foresaw she would have a second son. But
an increase added on by God is larger than the original capital itself. Benjamin, the
second son, whom Rachel regarded merely as a supplement, had ten sons, while Joseph begot
only two. These twelve together may be considered the twelve tribes borne by Rachel.[201]
Had Rachel not used the form of expression, "The Lord add to me another son,"
she herself would have begotten twelve tribes with Jacob.[202]

JACOB FLEES BEFORE LABAN

Jacob had only been waiting for Joseph to be born to begin preparations for his journey
home. The holy spirit had revealed to him that the house of Joseph would work the
destruction of the house of Esau, and, therefore, Jacob exclaimed at the birth of Joseph,
"Now I need not fear Esau or his legions.[203]

About this time, Rebekah sent her nurse Deborah, the daughter of Uz, accompanied by two
of Isaac's servants, to Jacob, to urge him to return to his father's house, now that his
fourteen years of service had come to an end. Then Jacob approached Laban, and spoke,
"Give me my wives and my children, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my
country, for my mother has sent messengers unto me, bidding me to return to my father's
house."[204] Laban answered, saying, "O that I might find favor in thine eyes!
By a sign it was made known unto me that God blesseth me for thy sake." What Laban
had in mind was the treasure he had found on the day Jacob came to him, and he considered
that a token of his beneficent powers.[205] Indeed, God had wrought many a thing in the
house of Laban that testified to the blessings spread abroad by the pious. Shortly before
Jacob came, a pest had broken out among Laban's cattle, and with his arrival it
ceased.[206] And Laban had had no son, but during Jacob's sojourn in Haran sons were born
unto him.[207]

All the hire he asked in return for his labor and for the blessings he had brought
Laban was the speckled and spotted among the goats of his herd, and the black among the
sheep. Laban assented to his conditions, saying, "Behold, I would it might be
according to thy word." The arch-villain Laban, whose tongue wagged in all
directions, and who made all sorts of promises that were never kept, judged others by
himself, and therefore suspected Jacob of wanting to deceive him.[208] And yet, in the
end, it was Laban himself who broke his word. No less than a hundred times he changed the
agreement between them. Nevertheless his unrighteous conduct was of no avail. Though a
three days' journey had been set betwixt Laban's flocks and Jacob's, the angels were wont
to bring the sheep belonging to Laban down to Jacob's sheep, and Jacob's droves grew
constantly larger and better.[209] Laban had given only the feeble and sick to Jacob, yet
the young of the flock, raised under Jacob's tendance, were so excellent in quality that
people bought them at a heavy price.[210] And Jacob had no need to resort to the peeled
rods. He had but to speak, and the flocks bare according to his desire.[211] What Laban
deserved was utter ruin, for having permitted the pious Jacob to work for him without
hire, and after his wages had been changed ten times, and ten times Laban had tried to
overreach him, God rewarded him in this way.[212] But his good luck with the flocks was
only what Jacob deserved. Every faithful laborer is rewarded by God in this world, quite
regardless of what awaits him in the world to come.[213] With empty hands Jacob had come
to Laban, and he left him with herds numbering six hundred thousand. Their increase had
been marvellous, an increase that will be equalled only in the Messianic time.[214]

The wealth and good fortune of Jacob called forth the envy of Laban and his sons, and
they could not hide their vexation in their intercourse with him. And the Lord said unto
Jacob, "Thy father-in-law's countenance is not toward thee as beforetime, and yet
thou tarriest with him? Do thou rather return unto the land of thy fathers, and there I
will let My Shekinah rest upon thee, for I cannot permit the Shekinah to reside outside of
the Holy Land."[215] Immediately Jacob sent the fleet messenger Naphtali[216] to
Rachel and Leah to summon them to a consultation, and he chose as the place of meeting the
open field, where none could overhear what was said.[217]

His two wives approved the plan of returning to his home, and Jacob resolved at once to
go away with all his substance, without as much as acquainting Laban with his intention.
Laban was gone to shear his sheep, and so Jacob could execute his plan without delay.

That her father might not learn about their flight from his teraphim, Rachel stole
them, and she took them and concealed them upon the camel upon which she sat, and she went
on. And this is the manner they used to make the images: They took a man who was the
first-born, slew him and took the hair off his head, then salted the head, and anointed it
with oil, then they wrote "the Name" upon a small tablet of copper or gold, and
placed it under his tongue. The head with the tablet under the tongue was then put in a
house where lights were lighted before it, and at the time when they bowed down to it, it
spoke to them on all matters that they asked of it, and that was due to the power of the
Name which was written upon it.[218]

THE COVENANT WITH LABAN

Jacob departed and crossed the Euphrates, and set his face toward Gilead, for the holy
spirit revealed to him that God would bring help there to his children in the days of
Jephthah. Meantime the shepherds of Haran observed that the well, which had been filled to
overflowing since the arrival of Jacob in their place, ran dry suddenly. For three days
they watched and waited, in the hope that the waters would return in the same abundance as
before. Disappointed, they finally told Laban of the misfortune, and he divined at once
that Jacob had departed thence, for he knew that the blessing had been conferred upon
Haran only for the sake of his son-in-law's merits.[219]

On the morrow Laban rose early, assembled all the people of the city, and pursued Jacob
with the intention of killing him when he overtook him. But the archangel Michael appeared
unto him, and bade him take heed unto himself, that he do not the least unto Jacob, else
would he suffer death himself.[220] This message from heaven came to Laban during the
night, for when, in extraordinary cases, God finds it necessary to reveal Himself unto the
heathen, He does it only in the dark, clandestinely as it were, while He shows Himself to
the prophets of the Jews openly, during daylight.

Laban accomplished the journey in one day for which Jacob had taken seven,[221] and he
overtook him at the mountain of Gilead. When he came upon Jacob, he found him in the act
of praying and giving praise unto God.[222] Immediately Laban fell to remonstrating with
his son-in-law for having stolen away unawares to him. He showed his true character when
he said, "It is in the power of my hand to do thee hurt, but the God of thy father
spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob
either good or bad." That is the way of the wicked, they boast of the evil they can
do. Laban wanted to let Jacob know that only the dream warning him against doing aught
that was harmful to Jacob prevented him from carrying out the wicked design he had formed
against him.[223]

Laban continued to take Jacob to task, and he concluded with the words, "And now,
though thou wouldst needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father's house,
yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?" When he pronounced the last words, his
grandchildren interrupted him, saying, "We are ashamed of thee, grandfather, that in
thy old age thou shouldst use such words as 'my gods.' " Laban searched all the tents
for his idols, going first to the tent of Jacob, which was Rachel's at the same time, for
Jacob always dwelt with his favorite wife. Finding nothing, he went thence to Leah's tent,
and to the tents of the two handmaids, and, noticing that Rachel was feeling about here
and there, his suspicions were aroused, and he entered her tent a second time. He would
now have found what he was looking for, if a miracle had not come to pass. The teraphim
were transformed into drinking vessels, and Laban had to desist from his fruitless search.

Now Jacob, who did not know that Rachel had stolen her father's teraphim in order to
turn him aside from his idolatrous ways, was wroth with Laban, and began to chide with
him. In the quarrel between them, Jacob's noble character manifested itself.
Notwithstanding his excitement, he did not suffer a single unbecoming word to escape him.
He only reminded Laban of the loyalty and devotion with which he had served him, doing for
him what none other would or could have done. He said: "I dealt wrongfully with the
lion, for God had appointed of Laban's sheep for the lion's daily sustenance, and I
deprived him thereof. Could another shepherd have done thus? Yes, the people abused me,
calling me robber and sneak thief, for they thought that only by stealing by day and
stealing by night could I replace the animals torn by wild beasts. And as to my
honesty," he continued, "is it likely there is another son-in-law who, having
lived with his father-in-law, hath not taken some little thing from the household of his
father-in-law, a knife, or other trifle? But thou hast felt about all my stuff, what hast
thou found of all thy household stuff? Not so much as a needle or a nail."

In his indignation, and conscious of his innocence, Jacob exclaimed, "With
whomsoever thou findest thy gods, he shall not live," words which contained a
curse--the thief was cursed with premature death, and therefore Rachel had to die in
giving birth to Benjamin. Indeed, the curse would have taken effect at once, had it not
been the wish of God that Rachel should bear Jacob his youngest son.[224]

After the quarrel, the two men made a treaty, and with his gigantic strength Jacob set
up a huge rock as a memorial, and a heap of stones as a sign of their covenant. In this
matter Jacob followed the example of his fathers, who likewise had covenanted with heathen
nations, Abraham with the Jebusites, and Isaac with the Philistines. Therefore Jacob did
not hesitate to make a treaty with the Arameans.[225] Jacob summoned his sons, calling
them brethren, for they were his peers in piety and strength, and he bade them cast up
heaps of stones. Thereupon he swore unto his father-in-law that he would take no wives
beside his four daughters, either while they were alive or after their death, and Laban,
on his part, swore that he would not pass over the heaps or over the pillar unto Jacob
with hostile intent,[226] and he took the oath by the God of Abraham, and the God of
Nahor, while Jacob made mention of the Fear of Isaac. He refrained from using the term
"the God of Isaac," because God never unites His name with that of a living
person, for the reason that so long as a man has not ended his years, no trust may be put
in him, lest he be seduced by the evil inclination. It is true, when He appeared unto
Jacob at Beth-el, God called Himself "the God of Isaac." There was a reason for
the unusual phrase. Being blind, Isaac led a retired life, within his tent, and the evil
inclination had no power over him any more. But though God had full confidence in Isaac,
yet Jacob could not venture to couple the name of God with the name of a living man,
wherefore he took his oath by "the Fear of Isaac."[227]

Early in the morning after the day of covenanting, Laban rose up, and kissed his
grandchildren and his daughters, and blessed them. But these acts and words of his did not
come from the heart; in his innermost thoughts he regretted that Jacob and his family and
his substance had escaped him.[228] His true feelings he betrayed in the message which he
sent to Esau at once upon his return to Haran, by the hand of his son Beor and ten
companions of his son. The message read: "Hast thou heard what Jacob thy brother has
done unto me, who first came to me naked and bare, and I went to meet him, and took him to
my house with honor, and brought him up, and gave him my two daughters for wives, and also
two of my maids? And God blessed him on my account, and he increased abundantly, and had
sons and daughters and maidservants, and also an uncommon stock of flocks and herds,
camels and asses, also silver and gold in abundance. But when he saw that his wealth
increased, he left me while I went to shear my sheep, and he rose up and fled in secrecy.
And he put his wives and children upon camels, and he led away all his cattle and
substance which he acquired in my land, and he resolved to go to his father Isaac, to the
land of Canaan. And he did not suffer me to kiss my sons and daughters, and he carried
away my daughters as captives of the sword, and he also stole my gods, and he fled. And
now I have left him in the mountain of the brook of Jabbok, he and all belonging to him,
not a jot of his substance is lacking. If it be thy wish to go to him, go, and there wilt
thou find him, and thou canst do unto him as thy soul desireth."[229]

Jacob had no need to fear either Laban or Esau, for on his journey he was accompanied
by two angel hosts, one going with him from Haran to the borders of the Holy Land, where
he was received by the other host, the angels of Palestine.[230] Each of these hosts
consisted of no less than six hundred thousand angels,[231] and when he beheld them, Jacob
said: "Ye belong neither to the host of Esau, who is preparing to go out to war
against me, nor the host of Laban, who is about to pursue me again. Ye are the hosts of
the holy angels sent by the Lord." And he gave the name Mahanaim, Double-Host, to the
spot on which the second army relieved the first.[232]

JACOB AND ESAU PREPARE TO MEET

The message of Laban awakened Esau's old hatred toward Jacob with increased fury, and
he assembled his household, consisting of sixty men. With them and three hundred and forty
inhabitants of Seir, he went forth to do battle with Jacob and kill him. He divided his
warriors into seven cohorts, giving to his son Eliphaz his own division of sixty, and
putting the other six divisions under as many of the Horites.

While Esau was hastening onward to meet Jacob, the messengers which Laban had sent to
Esau came to Rebekah and told her that Esau and his four hundred men were about to make
war upon Jacob, with the purpose of slaying him and taking possession of all he had.
Anxious lest Esau should execute his plan while yet Jacob was on the journey, she hastily
dispatched seventy-two of the retainers of Isaac's household, to give him help. Jacob,
tarrying on the banks of the brook Jabbok, rejoiced at the sight of these men, and he
greeted them with the words, "This is God's helping host," wherefore he called
the place of their meeting Mahanaim, Host.

After the warriors sent by Rebekah had satisfied his questions regarding the welfare of
his parents, they delivered his mother's message unto him, thus: "I have heard, my
son, that thy brother Esau hath gone forth against thee on the road, with men of the
children of Seir the Horite, and therefore, my son, hearken to my voice, and take counsel
with thyself what thou wilt do, and when he cometh up to thee, supplicate him, and do not
speak roughly to him, and give him a present from what thou possessest, and from what God
has favored thee with. And when he asketh thee concerning thy affairs, conceal nothing
from him, perhaps he may turn from his anger against thee, and thou wilt thereby save thy
soul, thou and all belonging to thee, for it is thy duty to honor him, since he is thy
elder brother."

And when Jacob heard the words of his mother which the messengers had spoken to him, he
lifted up his voice and wept bitterly, and did as his mother commanded him.

He sent messengers to Esau to placate him, and they said unto him: "Thus speaketh
thy servant Jacob: My lord, think not that the blessing which my father bestowed upon me
profited me. Twenty years I served Laban, and he deceived me, and changed my hire ten
times, as thou well knowest. Yet did I labor sorely in his house, and God saw my
affliction, my labor, and the work of my hands, and afterward He caused me to find grace
and favor in the sight of Laban. And through God's great mercy and kindness, I acquired
oxen and asses and cattle and men-servants and maid servants. And now I am coming to my
country and to my home, to my father and mother, who are in the land of Canaan. And I have
sent to let my lord know all this in order to find favor in the eyes of my lord, so that
he may not imagine that I have become a man of substance, or that the blessing with which
my father blessed me has benefited me."[233]

Furthermore spake the messengers: "Why dost thou envy me in respect to the
blessing wherewith my father blessed me? Is it that the sun shineth in my land, and not in
thine? Or doth the dew and the rain fall only upon my land, and not upon thine? If my
father blessed me with the dew of heaven, he blessed thee with the fatness of the earth,
and if he spoke to me, Peoples will serve thee, he hath said unto thee, By thy sword shalt
thou live. How long, then, wilt thou continue to envy me? Come, now, let us set up a
covenant between us, that we will share equally all the vexations that may occur."

Esau would not agree to this proposal, his friends dissuaded him therefrom, saying,
"Accept not these conditions, for God hath said to Abraham, Know of a surety that thy
seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve the people thereof,
and the aliens shall afflict them four hundred years. Wait, therefore, until Jacob and his
family go down into Egypt to pay off this debt."

Jacob also sent word to Esau, saying: "Though I dwelt with that heathen of the
heathen, Laban, yet have I not forgotten my God, but I fulfil the six hundred and thirteen
commandments of the Torah.[234] If thy mind be set upon peace, thou wilt find me ready for
peace. But if thy desire be war, thou wilt find me ready for war. I have with me men of
valor and strength, they have but to utter a word, and God fulfils it. I tarried with
Laban until Joseph should be born, he who is destined to subdue thee.[235] And though my
descendants be held in bondage in this world, yet a day will come when they will rule over
their rulers."[236]

In reply to all these gentle words, Esau spoke with arrogance: "Surely I have
heard, and truly it has been told unto me what Jacob has been to Laban, who brought him up
in his house, and gave him his daughters for wives, and he begot sons and daughters, and
abundantly increased in wealth and riches in Laban's house and with his help. And when he
saw that his wealth was abundant and his riches were great, he fled with all belonging to
him from Laban's house, and he carried away Laban's daughters from their father as
captives of the sword, without telling him of it. And not only to Laban hath Jacob done
thus, but also unto me hath he done so, and he hath twice supplanted me, and shall I be
silent? Now, I have this day come with my camp to meet him, and I will do unto him
according to the desire of my heart."

The messengers dispatched by Jacob now returned to him, and reported these words of
Esau unto him.[237] They also told him that his brother was advancing against him with an
army consisting of four hundred crowned heads, each leading a host of four hundred
men.[238] "It is true, thou art his brother, and thou treatest him as a brother
should," they said to Jacob, "but he is an Esau, thou must be made aware of his
villainy."[239]

Jacob bore in mind the promise of God, that He would bring him back to his father's
house in peace, yet the report about his brother's purpose alarmed him greatly. A pious
man may never depend upon promises of earthly good. God does not keep the promise if he is
guilty of the smallest conceivable trespass, and Jacob feared that he might have forfeited
happiness by reason of a sin committed by him. Moreover, he was anxious lest Esau be the
one favored by God, inasmuch as he had these twenty years been fulfilling two Divine
commands that Jacob had had to disregard. Esau had been living in the Holy Land, Jacob
outside of it; the former had been in attendance upon his parents, the latter dwelling at
a distance from them. And much as he feared defeat, Jacob also feared the reverse, that he
might be victorious over Esau, or might even slay his brother, which would be as bad as to
be slain by him. And he was depressed by another apprehension, that his father had died,
for he reasoned that Esau would not take such warlike steps against his own brother, were
his father still alive.[240]

When his wives saw the anxiety that possessed Jacob, they began to quarrel with him,
and reproach him for having taken them away from their father's house, though he knew that
such danger threatened from Esau.[241] Then Jacob determined to apply the three means that
might save him from the fate impending: he would cry to God for help, appease Esau's wrath
with presents, and hold himself in readiness for war if the worst came to the worst.[242]

He prayed to God: "O Thou God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac,
God of all who walk in the ways of the pious and do like unto them! I am not worthy of the
least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which Thou hast showed unto Thy servant. O
Lord of the world, as Thou didst not suffer Laban to execute his evil designs against me,
so also bring to naught the purpose of Esau, who desireth to slay me. O Lord of the world,
in Thy Torah which Thou wilt give us on Mount Sinai it is written, And whether it be cow
or ewe, ye shall not kill it and her young both in one day. If this wretch should come and
murder my children and their mothers at the same time, who would then desire to read Thy
Torah which Thou wilt give us on Mount Sinai? And yet Thou didst speak, For the sake of
thy merits and for the merits of thy fathers I will do good unto thee, and in the future
world thy children shall be as numerous as the sand of the sea."

As Jacob prayed for his own deliverance, so also he prayed for the salvation of his
descendants, that they might not be annihilated by the descendants of Esau.

Such was the prayer of Jacob when he saw Esau approaching from afar, and God heard his
petition and looked upon his tears, and He gave him the assurance that for his sake his
descendants, too, would be redeemed from all distress.[243]

Then the Lord sent three angels, and they went before Esau, and they appeared unto Esau
and his people as hundreds and thousands of men riding upon horses. They were furnished
with all sorts of weapons, and divided into four columns. And one division went on, and
they found Esau coming with four hundred men, and the division ran toward them, and
terrified them. Esau fell off his horse in alarm, and all his men separated from him in
great fear, while the approaching column shouted after them, "Verily, we are the
servants of Jacob, the servant of God, and who can stand against us?" Esau then said
unto them, "O, then my lord and brother Jacob is your lord, whom I have not seen
these twenty years, and now that I have this day come to see him, do you treat me in this
manner?" The angels answered, "As the Lord liveth, were not Jacob thy brother,
we had not left one remaining of thee and thy people, but on account of Jacob we will do
nothing to thee." This division passed from Esau, and when he had gone from there
about a league, the second division came toward him, and they also did unto Esau and his
men as the first had done to them, and when they permitted him to go on, the third came
and did like the first, and when the third had passed also, and Esau still continued with
his men on the road to Jacob, the fourth division came and did to them as the others had
done. And Esau was greatly afraid of his brother, because he thought that the four columns
of the army which he had encountered were the servants of Jacob.

After Jacob had made an end of praying, he divided all that journeyed with him into two
companies, and he set over them Damesek and Alinus, the two sons of Eliezer, the bondman
of Abraham, and their sons.[244] Jacob's example teaches us not to conceal the whole of
our fortune in one hiding-place, else we run the danger of losing everything at one
stroke.

Of his cattle he sent a part to Esau as a present, first dividing it into three droves
in order to impress his brother more. When Esau received the first drove, he would think
he had the whole gift that had been sent to him, and suddenly he would be astonished by
the appearance of the second portion, and again by the third. Jacob knew his brother's
avarice only too well.[245]

The men who were the bearers of Jacob's present to Esau were charged with the following
message, "This is an offering to my lord Esau from his slave Jacob." But God
took these words of Jacob in ill part, saying, "Thou profanest what is holy when thou
callest Esau lord." Jacob excused himself; he was but flattering the wicked in order
to escape death at his hands.[246]

JACOB WRESTLES WITH THE ANGEL

The servants of Jacob went before him with the present for Esau, and he followed with
his wives and his children. As he was about to pass over the ford of Jabbok, he observed a
shepherd, who likewise had sheep and camels. The stranger approached Jacob and proposed
that they should ford the stream together, and help each other move their cattle over, and
Jacob assented, on the condition that his possessions should be put across first. In the
twinkling of an eye Jacob's sheep were transferred to the other side of the stream by the
shepherd. Then the flocks of the shepherd were to be moved by Jacob, but no matter how
many he took over to the opposite bank, always there remained some on the hither shore.
There was no end to the cattle, though Jacob labored all the night through. At last he
lost patience, and he fell upon the shepherd and caught him by the throat, crying out,
"O thou wizard, thou wizard, at night no enchantment succeeds!" The angel
thought, "Very well, let him know once for all with whom he has had dealings,"
and with his finger he touched the earth, whence fire burst forth. But Jacob said,
"What! thou thinkest thus to affright me, who am made wholly of fire?"[247]

The shepherd was no less a personage than the archangel Michael, and in his combat with
Jacob he was assisted by the whole host of angels under his command. He was on the point
of inflicting a dangerous wound upon Jacob, when God appeared, and all the angels, even
Michael himself, felt their strength ooze away. Seeing that he could not prevail against
Jacob, the archangel touched the hollow of his thigh, and injured him, and God rebuked
him, saying, "Dost thou act as is seemly, when thou causest a blemish in My priest
Jacob?" Michael said in astonishment, "Why, it is I who am Thy priest!" But
God said, "Thou art My priest in heaven, and he is My priest on earth."
Thereupon Michael summoned the archangel Raphael, saying, "My comrade, I pray thee,
help me out of my distress, for thou art charged with the healing of all disease,"
and Raphael cured Jacob of the injury Michael had inflicted.

The Lord continued to reproach Michael, saying, "Why didst thou do harm unto My
first-born son?" and the archangel answered, "I did it only to glorify
Thee," and then God appointed Michael as the guardian angel of Jacob and his seed
unto the end of all generations, with these words: "Thou art a fire, and so is Jacob
a fire; thou art the head of the angels, and he is the head of the nations; thou art
supreme over all the angels, and he is supreme over all the peoples. Therefore he who is
supreme over all the angels shall be appointed unto him who is supreme over all the
peoples, that he may entreat mercy for him from the Supreme One over all."

Then Michael said unto Jacob, "How is it possible that thou who couldst prevail
against me, the most distinguished of the angels, art afraid of Esau?"

When the day broke, Michael said to Jacob, "Let me go, for the day breaketh,"
but Jacob held him back, saying, "Art thou a thief, or a gambler with dice, that thou
fearest the daylight?" At that moment appeared many different hosts of angels, and
they called unto Michael: "Ascend, O Michael, the time of song hath come, and if thou
art not in heaven to lead the choir, none will sing." And Michael entreated Jacob
with supplications to let him go, for he feared the angels of 'Arabot would consume him
with fire, if he were not there to start the songs of praise at the proper time. Jacob
said, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me," whereto Michael made
reply: "Who is greater, the servant or the son? I am the servant, and thou art the
son. Why, then, cravest thou my blessing?"[248] Jacob urged as an argument, "The
angels that visited Abraham did not leave without blessing him," but Michael held,
"They were sent by God for that very purpose, and I was not." Yet Jacob insisted
upon his demand, and Michael pleaded with him, saying, "The angels that betrayed a
heavenly secret were banished from their place for one hundred and thirty eight years.
Dost thou desire that I should acquaint thee with what would cause my banishment
likewise?" In the end the angel nevertheless had to yield; Jacob could not be moved,
and Michael took counsel with himself thus: "I will reveal a secret to him, and if
God demands to know why I revealed it, I will make answer, Thy children stand upon their
wishes with Thee, and Thou dost yield to them. How, then, could I have left Jacob's wish
unfulfilled?"

Then Michael spoke to Jacob, saying: "A day will come when God will reveal Himself
unto thee, and He will change thy name, and I shall be present when He changeth it.[249]
Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel, for happy thou, of woman born, who
didst enter the heavenly palace, and didst escape thence with thy life." And Michael
blessed Jacob with the words, "May it be the will of God that thy descendants be as
pious as thou art."[250]

At the same time the archangel reminded Jacob that he had promised to give a tithe of
his possessions unto God, and at once Jacob separated five hundred and fifty head of
cattle from his herds, which counted fifty-five hundred. Then Michael went on, "But
thou hast sons, and of them thou hast not set apart the tenth." Jacob proceeded to
pass his sons in review: Reuben, Joseph, Dan, and Gad being the first-born, each of his
mother, were exempt, and there remained but eight sons, and when he had named them, down
to Benjamin, he had to go back and begin over again with Simon, the ninth, and finish with
Levi as the tenth.

Michael took Levi with him into heaven, and presented him before God, saying, "O
Lord of the world, this one is Thy lot, and the tenth belonging unto Thee," and God
stretched forth His hand and blessed Levi with the blessing that his children should be
the servants of God on earth as the angels were His servants on high. Michael spoke again,
"Doth not a king provide for the sustenance of his servants?" whereupon God
appointed for the Levites all that was holy unto the Lord.[251]

Then Jacob spoke to the angel: "My father conferred the blessing upon me that was
intended for Esau, and now I desire to know whether thou wilt acknowledge the blessing as
mine, or wilt bring charges against me on account of it." And the angel said: "I
acknowledge the blessing to be thine by right. Thou didst not gain it by craft and
cunning, and I and all the heavenly powers recognize it to be valid, for thou hast shown
thyself master over the mighty powers of the heavens as over Esau and his
legions."[252]

And even then Jacob would not let the angel depart, he had to reveal his name to him
first, and the angel made known to him that it was Israel, the same name that Jacob would
once bear.[253]

At last the angel departed, after Jacob had blessed him, and Jacob called the place of
wrestling Penuel, the same place to which before he had given the name Mahanaim, for both
words have but one meaning, the place of encounter with angels.[254]